Steven Stamkos scored his 600th career goal to lead the Nashville Predators to a 4-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday afternoon in Las Vegas.
Stamkos roofed a one-timer from the left circle off a Filip Forsberg crossing pass at the 15:37 mark of the first period to tie the game, 2-2, and become the 22nd player in NHL history to reach 600 and the first to do it since Sidney Crosby accomplished the feat on Nov. 23, 2024. It was his 12th goal in 14 games in December and his 18th of the season.
Nick Perbix, Reid Schaefer and Michael Bunting also scored goals and Luke Evangelista had two assists for Nashville, which won for the fifth time in its last six games. Justus Annunen made 29 saves for the Predators.
Mark Stone and Ben Hutton scored goals and Pavel Dorofeyev had two assists for Vegas, which lost its third straight game and the sixth in seven games. Akira Schmid finished with 15 saves.
Vegas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on a power-play goal by Stone, who tapped in a Dorofeyev crossing pass by the right post, and Hutton, who deflected a Tomas Hertl one-timer five-hole for his career-high sixth goal.
Nashville rallied to take a 3-2 lead with three goals in a five-minute span later in the opening period. Perbix made it 2-1 at the 11:20 mark when he ripped a wrist shot from inside the blue line past a Erik Haula screen and Schmid’s glove side.
After Stamkos’ milestone goal tied it, the Predators took a 3-2 lead 44 seconds later when Reid Schaefer’s wrist shot from the left circle caromed in off Smith.
Nashville scored its fourth consecutive goal midway through the second period when Bunting, stationed by the left post, deflected Nick Blankenburg’s shot from the right point.
Cole Smith had a chance to make it 5-2 at the 7:31 mark of the third period when he was awarded a penalty shot after being dragged down by Hutton on a breakaway but his wrist shot from the slot clanged off the right post.
Vegas, which played without center Jack Eichel and defenseman Shea Theodore for the seventh straight game, lost defenseman Brayden McNabb to a left arm injury following a nasty collision with Bunting in the neutral zone midway through the second period.
–Field Level Media
